Runway ready: Hairstylists and makeup artists prepare for SFW
- Shanelle Kaul, Anchor, Global Morning News
- Apr 8, 2015
- 4 min read
When we think fashion, we often think of the garments, the designers who construct them and the models who don them. But from big brows to luscious locks, it’s the hands of make-up artists and hair stylists that make the designer’s vision come to life on the runway.
Together, Sara Lindsay and Daniel Pritchard’s teams are creating three unique looks this year – one for each night of Saskatchewan Fashion Week (SFW). Lindsay is SFW’s makeup coordinator and a key makeup artist and Pritchard is the hairstyling coordinator. We sat down with them to find out what it takes:
How important is hair and makeup to the final production value of the show?
SL: If the hair and makeup is wrong, it’s really obvious – let’s put it that way. It’s almost like the whole look is a design: the wardrobe, the hair, and the makeup, together.
DP: I always say, you could buy a five to ten dollar dress, but if the hair is bad it looks like it’s worth five dollars. If the hair is good, it looks like a designer dress.
What is the process of selecting the hairstylists and makeup artists? How do you assemble that team?
DP: We have them submit applications and include portfolio samples and we take a look at them and choose who we feel this year is going to best represent SFW.
SL: It boils down to basically experience and the quality of their previous work, and also leadership skills. We’re discovering artists we didn’t even know existed. This helps bring to light the talent that’s in Saskatchewan that we’re not aware of.
What kind of roles will successful applicants have?
DP: Sometimes there might be an assistant role; sometimes there might be a supportive role; or a key role which involves creating a look that’s going to be on the runway. Some of the key artists have worked at New York Fashion Week, some have worked Paris Fashion Week, Toronto Fashion Week, so they have lots of experience with runway looks.
SFW is a real springboard for artists in Saskatchewan to kick start their career. Also it’s a great platform for people that have been doing it, to share their work with up-and-coming artists. People that are usually competing with each other work together in a collaborative way and get to learn from each other.
Do the designers have a say in the hair and makeup?
SL: Usually at fashion weeks in London and Paris, the designers hire their own models, stylists, and artists and handle their own set completely. One of the reasons SFW provides the hairstyling and makeup artistry as an incentive for designers and retailers is because we are a smaller centre and have a limited number of models, and they have to go through each set over and over and over again. So that’s where the challenge is, and how it’s different at SFW compared to other fashion weeks is we have to be able to come up with one look that will suit everything from athletic wear to lingerie, all in one night.
How do you balance making the looks workable for all designers, but still interesting and unique?
DP: It can really kill a look for a designer if the hair is overdone. It totally takes away from the outfit.
SL: So it might mean there’s one element of the face or the hair that’s sort of a feature, but the hair, makeup, and wardrobe all have to complement each other to show off the designer’s work as best we can.
How is a creative vision developed?
DP: We kind of have a sense of the direction of what’s happening out there with other runway shows – in Russia, Paris, and New York. And the reason why this is an important element is because fashion follows fashion and it evolves, so we have to keep on top of that and at the same time add our own artistic style to it.
SL: We sit down with the key artists and brainstorm. They’ll bring their ideas and we’ll see what works together and what doesn’t, until we come up with a cohesive look.
How much manpower is required to get the models runway ready?
DP: Probably about 15 people. There are people keying, who are demonstrating the looks that are going to be seen that evening; then you have your support artists, which will be doing the looks; then you have assistants which will be helping the support people prepare their looks. All together there are 52 hair stylists and makeup artists that will contribute to the team in 2015.
Was there any big takeaway from years past that you will apply to this year’s show?
SL: I think a big difference is that we’ve really figured out a way to open up the lines of communication between the hair and makeup team and the designers, so they have a little bit more of a voice.
Twenty-one fashion designers will show original men’s and women’s Fall/Winter 2015 collections, and seven local retailers will show emerging Spring/Summer 2015 style trends on Saskatchewan Fashion Week’s runway, May 7-9, 2015 in Regina, SK. Purchase tickets.
Comments